


Hospital Duty

by Eissel



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Amestris may not have holidays but the solstice exists so there, Despite these tags this is a fluffy fic I swear, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Gift Fic, Gift Giving, Holidays, Hospitalization, Look we are going to get more Riza + Ed interactions if I have to write them myself, Mostly Gen, Pre-Canon, Riza and Ed Talk on a Hospital Bed: The Fic, Riza likes girly stuff sue me, Sequel, The Royai is background but it's still there because I am A Grade Trash, Winter Solstice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21797008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eissel/pseuds/Eissel
Summary: Hawkeye may be confined to her bed, but that doesn’t stop Ed from helping her not feel bored.
Relationships: Edward Elric & Riza Hawkeye, Edward Elric & Riza Hawkeye & Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Comments: 3
Kudos: 110





	Hospital Duty

**Author's Note:**

  * For [waddiwasiwitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/waddiwasiwitch/gifts).



> If Roy & Ed is my angst magnet, Ed & Riza is my fluff magnet. I wrote this after (re)reading waddiwasiwitch's great series The New Beginnings, it's good, go read it, the interactions are cozy and great and *aaaaaaa*!! 
> 
> So enough of my gushing, Happy Holidays to all my readers!
> 
> (Also this is a sequel to my fic, Firefight, which you should probably read for the context of why Riza's in the hospital)

If someone were to ask Ed to make a list of things Riza Hawkeye liked, he wouldn’t have put peppermint tea and chocolate chip cookies of all things on there. Maybe guns, maybe that one novel he had seen lying around her desk, but not something so… girly. 

Maybe he was generalizing, but Hawkeye didn’t seem to be the girly type. 

Then he saw her laid up in a hospital bed, pouting at her commanding officer when he laid a box of chocolate cookies just out of her reach. So what the hell did  _ Ed  _ know, right? 

“I have to get going Lieutenant, don’t forget to give Catalina a call.” Mustang said, shrugging his coat back on. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Tell them to discharge me.” Hawkeye said, not missing a beat. 

“No can do, you needed stitches for that wound, and knowing you, you’ll pull them by the time you step outside.”

“I’m sober.” Mustang arched an eyebrow, and pointed to the IV. 

“Sure you are Lieutenant, and I’m the Fuhrer-President.” He turned to Ed. “Make sure she stays in bed Fullmetal, I’ll send Havoc and Catalina along to relieve you in an hour or so.”

“Yeah, yeah bastard, just get outta here before Hawkeye summons one of her guns to shoot you.” The Colonel laughed, and walked out of the room. Ed waited for the door to shut and the footsteps to fade away before taking a seat at the foot of her bed. 

“Edward?”

“You shouldn’t be here.” He muttered, taking in the sight. The Lieutenant looked like she’d been run over, bandages wrapped around her waist, an IV drip was securely attached to her arm, her skin was paler than usual (which was a feat in and of itself, the Lieutenant was pale enough to burn under 10 minutes of sunlight), and her hair was limp and matted, sweat having stuck wayward strands to her forehead. 

“You’re not going to change the colonel’s mind on this Edward.”

“I’m not talking about him, I… If I had just-”

“Edward Elric!” She snapped, forcing herself into a sitting position. “You are  _ not  _ to blame yourself for this situation!”

“But if I had just been fa-”

“What-ifs don’t do us any favors Edward. That man  _ chose  _ to take the shot, knowing he’d hit either me or you. It was  _ his  _ fault, got it?” Ed nodded, chastized. She sighed, and gestured to the table. “Could you get me that box?” He did so, and the Lieutenant stilled, seemingly waiting for the Colonel to come racing back in, as if he had a built in detector for when she was eating cookies or something. “Thank you Edward.” She opened it, and the inside surprised Ed more than the fact that the same Lieutenant who could cow grown men with a single look and cock of her gun was the same one who liked chocolate chip cookies and peppermint tea. 

It was  _ pink.  _ Violently pink. Unicorns would recoil in  _ horror  _ at the explosion of pink. It was also  _ frilly.  _

“That is… A lot of pink.” He said dumbly, and Hawkeye chuckled. 

“I like the color.” She took out a cookie, and pulled on one of the lace patterns. As it gave way, Ed realized that it was a kind of disposable paper doily. “Want one? They’re good.” Ed shrugged, and accepted the cookie. Eating it, he repressed an exclamation of wonder. 

The cookies were  _ good  _ (Not that he was expecting that they would be  _ shit  _ or anything, as much as the office (and the base at large) teased Mustang about being vaguely suicidal when it came to angering Hawkeye, the man did actually value his life). They were still somewhat warm, and the chocolate melted in his mouth. 

“You’re right. This is pretty good for a cookie.”

“You’ve had better?” She asked after polishing off her own. 

“Winry makes cookies to  _ die _ for. Used to drive Al a bit nutty when she’d stress bake.” Hawkeye laughed, and shifted her position. 

“The Colonel is like that too, but with food, not baking. When he’s left alone and stressed, the office knows not to eat breakfast because he’ll come in, just  _ laden  _ down with food.”

“For once, the base must not hate him.”

“For once.” She agreed. “Personally, I think that’s why General Hakuro lays into him so much, he’s hoping he’ll get stressed enough to cook for the base.” She pointed to the thermos Mustang had also left on the table. “Could you place a tea bag in there? I’m a bit thirsty.”

“He didn’t leave a spoon.” Ed said as he did what she asked. “Cheapskate.”

“While he  _ is,  _ that isn’t why he didn’t leave a spoon.”

“Why not?”

“I steeple it, that usually takes about thirty minutes.” 

“Oh, so kind of like how Granny does her tea. I didn’t know you could do that with peppermint tea, I thought that was too light or whatever.”

“Teas come in all different kinds of styles.” Hawkeye said. “My favorites tend to be those with refreshing, light flavors. I can’t stand bitter teas, like black tea. Peppermint tea is also good for colder nights, like tonight.”

“I didn’t really realize there were that many different teas.” Ed mumbled. 

“Not many people do, Amestris has a strong preference for coffee, because tea was associated with the old aristocracy, and coffee houses were, and still are, popular places for military personnel to congregate at. That and Amestris is mostly a hard water country, except up North and out East.”

“I...I never knew that. Though that’s probably because it was something you learned in class.” He said sheepishly. “Except the water thing, I learned that growing up in Resembool. I’d heard stories about Central water tasting awful, but I didn’t believe it until I actually tasted it. I remember when the Lieutenant Colonel had us over for dinner, his water tasted really chalky. I could’ve transmuted a whole stick of chalk out of it!” He complained.

“Central is actually built at the base of a spring, so all the water gets filtered through rocks and the like. That’s probably why it tasted chalky.” She smiled. “Though I actually learned all this from my grandfather, as he’s quite knowledgeable about Ancient Amestrian history.” She leaned back, winced, and sighed. At his look, she explained: “My side’s hurting, but I really don’t want to increase the drip.”

“But wouldn’t it relieve the pain?”

“With my family’s history, it’s likely that I could become addicted.” Hawkeye explained. Ed shifted, put out that she had to suffer through the pain. 

“Do you think that it’ll go away if you fell asleep?”

“Hopefully it will.” Ed glanced over at the table, where someone had left a couple of magazines for vistors’ enjoyment. 

“Want me to read something for you?” He asked a tad awkwardly. 

“The magazines here are all out of date, you’ll probably find articles about the construction of New Optain in there.”

“That’s not a magazine Hawkeye.” He said fake seriously. “That’s a  _ textbook. _ ” She smiled at his lame joke, and Ed scooted forwards. “How about this, M-Winry and Granny used to tell stories when Al and I got sick. Want me to try and dredge one up?”

“Do you know the one about the King of the Golden Mountain?” Ed thought, and winced. 

“I do.”

“I’ve never liked the ending much, nor the characters.”

“I’ve never liked it much either.” Ed said, wondering where she was going with this. 

“It would be nice, if someone could, perhaps, rewrite it?” She smiled at him, and Ed laughed. 

“Why not? Settle in Lieutenant, by the time I’m done, we’re gonna have the best story ever made on our hands!”

“Well, every story needs a title.” She reminded him. “If you’re going to change it up that much, you should rename it as well.”

“You should name it.” The Lieutenant looked surprised, but quickly masked it. 

“If you insist.” She looked deep in thought. “The Prince of the Golden Kingdom.”

“Where are we, Xerxes?” Ed joked, but thought about what he could do with the title. “So, on a winter’s night, a dwarf all dressed in black approached a poor woodcutter…”

* * *

“And then, the prince stood at the throne, elixir in hand.”

“And he saw that all was good.” Hawkeye finished with a yawn. “Thank you Edward, you’re a very good storyteller.” Her eyelids drooped, and Ed got up. 

“Go to sleep Hawkeye, you need it.”

“Tell the team to visit…” She muttered before nodding off. Ed checked the clock as he stretched, working out the kinks in his neck. Sitting on a bed ramrod straight for 30 minutes was  _ not  _ good for his spine. Heading out, he closed the door quietly, and nearly ran right into Havoc and some brunette lady. 

“Whoa there Boss!” The Second Lieutenant exclaimed, and righted him. “What were you doing up in Hawk’s room?”

“The bastard left, he said he’d get you and some woman named Catalina to check in on her, but he wanted me to stay and give her company.” Havoc made an understanding noise, while the woman at his side made an offended huff. 

“Of  _ course  _ he doesn’t bother to give a description of me, it’s not like Riza and I are friends or anything...” Ed gave her a look, and she clarified. “ _ I’m  _ Catalina. Rebecca Catalina to be exact. Riza and I met in the Academy.”

“Is she sleeping Boss? I can’t hear anything from that room.”

“Yeah, she just nodded off.” Catalina grinned wickedly. 

“ _ Perfect. _ ” She purred, and entered, clutching her bag to her side. 

“She’s just going to mess with Hawkeye’s makeup a bit there Boss, don’t look so angry.” Havoc laughed and clapped Ed on the back. “Thanks for staying with her by the way.” With that, Havoc left Ed and entered the room.

* * *

“Ed! You have a package!” Groaning, Ed rolled out of the warm bed and onto the cold hardwood floor where he stayed, not budging an inch. 

“What is it Winry!? It’s like, 3 in the morning!” He called out, voice muffled from the floorboards. 

“It’s actually 6 Brother!” Al chirped, like the  _ traitor  _ he was. 

“Shut up Al.” Ed groused. Winry walked in, holding a bulky package under her arm. 

“It’s postmarked from Central, but I don’t think it’s from the Lieutenant Colonel.”

“Hughes? Nah, he wouldn’t use plain brown paper to wrap his gifts.” Ed got up off of the wood, and took the package from Winry, who immediately sat down on his bed to watch him open it. "He'd use some awful pattern that'd blind you before you got a chance to open the gift."

“Who’s it from then?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out! Jeez...” Ed tore the paper off, and yelped as a box landed in his lap, alongside a piece of military stationary. 

“Oh! Is it someone from the office?” Al asked, seeing the paper. 

“Must be, but what the hell are they doing up in Central?”

“Maybe they’re on a mission?” Al suggested as he snatched it up, clearly eager to find out who Ed’s mystery present giver was. “The Lieutenant?!” Al exclaimed, and Ed snatched the paper back.

_ Happy Holidays Edward, I hope you enjoy the gifts. _

_ \- 1st Lt. Riza Hawkeye _

Ed stared at the short note dumbly. Add “giving presents” to the list of things Ed didn’t think Hawkeye liked to do. Placing the note on the floor, he opened the box, and a light blush overtook his face. Quickly, he shut it so that neither of the other two occupants of his (shared) room could see the contents.

“What is it?” Winry asked impatiently. 

“It’s nothing...” He tried to deflect, but Winry snatched the box up. 

“Nothing my-” she stopped as she opened the box. “Cookies?”

“The Lieutenant sent you  _ cookies?! _ ” Al exclaimed. “Winry, open them! I want to see!”

“I didn’t realize she could bake.” Winry muttered, and Ed didn’t correct her. “I didn’t realize she liked pink either.” As she kept up a running commentary on the box, she reached in and ate one. “Whoa! These are really good!”

“Of course they are, the  _ Lieutenant  _ likes them, not that bastard Colone- Wait, are you eating  _ my  _ cookies?!” Ed stood up in outrage, wrestled the box away from Winry, and ran downstair

“Ed!” She screeched, and ran after him. 

* * *

“I hope my gift made it to Resembool safely.”

“It’ll make it there on time, don’t worry. Remember, Maes ended up threatening some poor man over it.”

“I’ll compensate for damages.” Riza deadpanned. “Besides, shouldn’t  _ you  _ be the one worried? You’re the one who actually bought them.”

“Maes threatened a man over this. With his pocket knives.” Roy replied, giving her an incredulous look. “Forgive me if I’m not all that worried.” As though on cue, the aforementioned man burst through the inner office door. 

“Yo, Roy!” He exclaimed. “Are you just about done here?”

“Just enjoying a cup of tea with the Lieutenant.” Maes made a face. 

“How you two enjoy that stuff is beyond me.”

“I’m terribly sorry that your taste buds died an inelegant death in the military cafeteria.” Riza snarked. “Gracia must be devastated that her husband cannot appreciate her cooking.” Maes sputtered, and Riza smirked. 

“You two will be the death of me.” Roy said, draining the last of his tea. “Thank you for the tea Lieutenant, while peppermint isn’t my favorite, it certainly is good on days like this.” 

“You’re very welcome Sir, now shall we go? The Solstice Lights will soon be lit, and I’m sure we don’t want to miss it, and we do have to pick up Gracia and Elicia before we go see them.” 

“It’s going to be my sweet Elicia’s first time seeing the lights!” Maes babbled as Roy and Riza put their cups away.

The three military officers bundled up, and prepared to have a festive night out in the streets of Central.

“Do you think he found it?” Riza asked as they walked.

“It’s _Fullmetal,_ he found it.”

* * *

_ On the bottom of the box, read in small, golden script, the tale Riza and Ed had come up with during her stay in the hospital.  _

_ Ed grinned, and placed the layer of lace over the inscription. He’d probably cut it out or something later, once he found a way to make sure the inscription wouldn’t be damaged.  _

_ “Ed! It’s time to cut down the tree!” _

_ “Coming!” He closed the box, and shoved it under his bed, grabbing a scarf on his way out to enjoy the Solstice. _

* * *

“Of course he did. I guess I’m just being silly.”

**Author's Note:**

> King of the Golden Mountain is a real German fairy tale, and while it's not the worst one I've ever read (referring to the morality of the story), it's not a golden child either. Then again it's apparently one of the Grimm Fairy Tales, so make of that what you will.


End file.
